A winner and new ‘Champion’
To paraphrase Terence Blanchard’s Champion, what makes an opera an opera?
Eric Owens
58 pieces since 2006 — in 26 roles, at 13 companies, most often at Metropolitan Opera.
58
pieces
26
roles
13
companies
21
years
By role
Wotan 5
Porgy 4
Alberich 3
Hagen 2
Jaufré Rudel 2
Montesecco 1
Wotan/Wanderer 1
Water Goblin 1
Vodnik 1
The King 1
Stephen Kumalo 1
Raimondo 1
Philippe II 1
Philippe 1
Orest 1
Nekrotzar 1
Mefistofele 1
Macbeth 1
Jailer 1
Hunding 1
Hercules 1
Gualtiero 1
Grendel 1
Filippo II 1
Emile Griffith (older self) 1
Capellio 1
By company
Metropolitan Opera 17
Lyric Opera of Chicago 7
Washington National Opera 3
Carnegie Hall 1
Chicago Symphony Orchestra 1
Dutch National Opera 1
Glimmerglass Festival 1
LA Opera 1
Minnesota Orchestra 1
New York Philharmonic 1
Opera Orchestra of New York 1
San Francisco Opera 1
War Memorial Opera House 1
17 pieces as Metropolitan Opera — stats above show all coverage for Eric Owens.
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We’ll always have Paris (or maybe not)
The revival of Don Carlo(s) which opened on November 3 restored the translated Italian text and the cut 1882 four-act revision not seen at the Met since Rudolf Bing’s last season in 1972.
Back to black
When was the last time the Metropolitan Opera mounted a new production that was musically outstanding yet the direction and/or design mostly sucked?
Get ready for the judgment day
In anticipation of the Met’s reopening performance on September 11, another serving of pandemic-hoarding arrives on Trove Thursday with 10 rare live performances of the Verdi Requiem’s concluding “Libera me.”
All I cared about was Bess
Opera’s latest superstar, Angel Blue, in a compleat and enthralling portrayal, gloriously sung and rivetingly acted.
Something With a ‘Ring’ to It
Cycle II represented an embarrassment of musical riches.
The end is the beginning of the end
At the Metropolitan Opera’s Götterdämmerung on Saturday afternoon, the fires which consumed the Gods burned lukewarm.
Water, logged
So, how excited are you to read another piece about the Mary Zimmerman Rusalka?
Sleeping with the fishes
With a cast of stellar singers and uneven direction by Mary Zimmerman, Dvorák’s Rusalka debuts in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera.
There arose such a clatter
With Christmas Eve 2016 falling on a Saturday, the Met offers contrasting orchestral splendors at noon and 6 p.m.
Chanson d’amour
Much like Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, which launched the Met’s 2016-2017 season, Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin is an opera about love and death.
Bleak house
The haunted Mycenae of Patrice Chéreau’s enthralling production of Richard Strauss’s Elektra had seized its viewers in an unrelenting vise that never relaxed even at its quietly shattering conclusion.
Must the finals come so soon?
Without fail, all nine finalists had nice clear ringing voices. Whether they develop into great artists is another question.
Sun rises in east as dog bites man
A member of the cher public who braved this afternoon’s performance of Das Rheingold at the Met reports that the Machine jammed halfway through the transition between scenes two and three.
Def Man Glance
Since 2010 I’ve been reading nothing but horror being heaped upon the Met’s new Ring. It’s been like a cross between a cruise ship size buffet spread of internet snarking and a slasher film re-cast with music critics.
The Sky People have sent us a message
Great expectations awaited the Met Opera’s new production of Das Rheingold, staged by the ambitious Canadian director Robert Lepage, and rightly so. With a 45-ton set carrying a $16 million price tag, a world-renowned cast, and maestro James Levine celebrating his 40th anniversary on the podium, who wouldn’t be on the edge of his seat as […]
Circling the Ring
Crossing the Plaza and seeing two thousand chairs gleaming in the gloaming with rain slick and thoughts of the evening that might have been for many. Past the ticket takers and the buzz of voices, the gawkers lined up on the stairs to see the celebs, I wend my way through and up and up. […]